today in history

1892

US Patent Office decides J W Swan, not Edison, is the inventor of the electric light carbon for the incandescent lamp.

1974

Sir John Kerr is sworn in as Governor-general of Australia.

1978

A truck carrying gas explodes and sets fire to a campsite on the Mediterranean coast in Spain, killing at least 180.

1987

The UN proclaims newborn boy Matej Gaspar in Zagreb, Yugoslavia, the world’s five billionth inhabitant.

1992

Six people drown after falling into the Kiama blowhole in New South Wales.